No dice on casinos

Casino developers hoping for big winnings in Massachusetts have been dealt several setbacks in the last few weeks. In two instances voters turned down destination casinos proposed for their towns — in...

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Posted Nov. 17, 2013 @ 12:01 am

Casino developers hoping for big winnings in Massachusetts have been dealt several setbacks in the last few weeks. In two instances voters turned down destination casinos proposed for their towns — in Palmer in the western part of the state and in East Boston.

The East Boston casino, which would be on the site of Suffolk Downs racetrack, had the support of outgoing Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and was considered a good bet before the ballots were counted. No wonder that Menino and most city councilors objected to a citywide vote: They figured a host community would be more swayed by the prospect of jobs than thousands of voters who would only see more traffic. Ultimately, even the locals weren’t playing.

Suffolk Downs’s owners aren’t giving up easily despite a severe blow just prior to the vote when their partner, Caesars Entertainment, could not pass the state’s smell test. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, created to bring responsible operators to the state with stringent vetting guidelines, found in its investigation that the renowned Caesars had possible ties to Russian organized crime.

Crime and casinos together — the commission apparently was shocked. Caesars withdrew.

With a Dec. 31 deadline for sending proposals to the commission, Suffolk Downs is searching feverishly for a new partner to operate a casino on racetrack land in Revere, a town that this month said “yes” to a casino. The racetrack straddles the two communities.

As if this were not confusing enough, on Tuesday the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe — which previously lost a local vote to build a casino on the Lakeville-Freetown line in southeastern Massachusetts — said it had received federal authority to operate a casino on Martha’s Vineyard. That sent the state’s lawyers scrambling, because Gov. Deval Patrick already had entered into a pact with another tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoags, for a casino in Taunton.

Energized casino opponents are collecting signatures to put a question on the ballot next year to repeal the 2011 state law endorsing legalized gambling.

The prospect of casinos in Massachusetts is a threat to Rhode Island’s Newport Grand and Twin River in Lincoln — and the revenue they pump into state coffers. Twin River has added gaming tables this year, trying to lure Massachusetts customers before there’s an option closer to home. Besides the proposed casino in Taunton, owners of former Raynham Park are vying to have the state’s only slots parlor sited in that town.

The longer the debate over casinos in Massachusetts roils, the better for Twin Rivers and Newport Grand, and for Rhode Island taxpayers as well.